A Challenging Blog
Hi, all!
I trust you're enjoying your summer. We have been absolutely thrilled with our summer temps. It finally feels like summer. We've been to the community pool a few times and have been making good use of our small inflatable pool in the backyard.
Since we've moved ourselves out of the upstairs and live on our first floor, the air conditioning load has been cut in half. I keep the temperature around 78 and use FANS to move the cooled air around. It has been so nice. Our shower is on the second floor, so every time we make a trip upstairs to use the shower, we're reminded how heat rises and how glad we are we moved to the first floor!
Speaking of air conditioning, the AC died in our van. It conveniently coincided with the first week of temps in the 90s. As I rode around with my windows down and sweat trickling down my back (limiting those trips to an absolute minimum), I was reminded of the decades of no air conditioning in house or car that I experienced in Florida. I then blessed the man who invented air conditioning! (My husband got the AC recharged and I'm "cool" again. Yay!)
I just came across a new (to me) blog. I haven't read all the way through it, so I hope it stays on topic, but so far it has been intriguing. It's called "Trash Society." HERE is the link, and below is the intro:What’s the challenge? The challenge is no new stuff for one year. This means no shopping in retail stores, with the exception of groceries and toiletries. (I don’t want CPS taking my kids away for my radicalness) Groceries and toiletries are the only new things we will buy and will, in the process, learn better ways to make those purchases. The only places we will shop is thrift stores or resale shops. No major purchases either. Now the one small issue here is that sometimes I have to buy things at work for stage sets or marketing. I will still have to make those purchases because I need my job. (Or do I? Okay, a subject for another time)
It looks extreme, but I'm planning on gleaning all things useful from her experience. If nothing else, it might be entertaining to read how she handles the details and the challenges!
I will be blogging this challenge. It started yesterday, May 27, 2010.
10 comments:
A great challenge, hope you are successful. Speaking of hot weather, I'm reading an old book, Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly, and it is about summertime and talks a lot about hot it was. It is an autobiographical fiction story, written in the days before air conditioning was common!
Sorry this is just a tad too radical for me as long as I'm financially able to buy some new things. I can agree to doing most of the shopping in thrift and second hand stores. But, as long as I'm financially able, I will buy new underwear and new shoes. Around here thrift store pickings are really slim. If I have to drive 200 miles to find a good thrift store, then it is cheaper to buy new items. (Also, I hope her furnace doesn't quit. That would be my luck.)
So, overall this is a good goal, but not one that I'd want to have to absolutely stick to.
TW-US--OH, No! I'm not going to be doing this challenge. I'm just going to READ about it and see if anything useful for us comes out of it LOL! I am definitely not up for that level of extreme.
The book sounds interesting. Where does the story take place? I know that no AC where I live now would totally be doable compared to what it was like when I was growing up in FL. Of course, when I was growing up, we could wear cool clothing--no stays and petticoats and wool!!!
Packrat--I think the blog will be a VERY interesting read. It's too extreme for me, too, but I hope to be inspired as I follow her experiences.
Hi! Thanks so much for following my challenge and blogging about it. So far, it's been good, not much of a desire to shop, as a matter of fact, quite the opposite. I do still like to treasure hunt at thrift stores, although I've not bought much.
If you do any part of a challenge, let me know and I'll add it to my blog. I love sharing stories of others making changes, big or small.
Thanks again! :)
I also added your blog link on my trashsociety page on facebook. :) Thanks again!
Excessable--Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I'm very much looking forward to following your journey. I know that I will be challenged and I fully expect to incorporate what I learn from your experience.
Thanks for blogging about it!
Still following your site. Glad you are not taking this challenge!
Travels with Uncle Sam--I'm finding her journal to be fascinating! I'm not up for the full monty, but I am definitely gleaning information and inspiration for my own family.
I'm glad you're still following. I plan to pick up the posting a bit. Summer is nearly over!
Wow! Cool challenge! I know I can't do it but I too will be following along, and seeing how little I can spend or waste :)
Not Jane--I'm glad that I linked to her blog as I do believe it will challenge us in a good way.
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